Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Michael Ceraolo- A Poem

Modern Olympian Ode #3 (1896): Spiridon Louis

The Games had been revived afteran interregnum of a millennium and a half,though there were some deviations from the Greek ideal

"Not the triumph but the struggle"said one of the modern Games' revivers,and here was one of those deviations:to the ancient Greeks winning was the only thing,and unlike Vince Lombardi they meant it;there were no second or third prizes back thenas there would be here

There would be a new event here,a race of great lengthto commemorate the probably apocryphal taleof Pheidippides,said to have run over twenty milesfrom Marathon to Athensto bring news of a Greek victory over the Persiansand after the announcement dropped deadWould a similar fate be awaiting those here?

There was a choice of roads,and thus a choice of distances,for this new race which would gofrom Marathon to Athenswould not be legend but fact:a short one of 21+ miles through the mountainsor a longer one of over 25 milesover less mountainous landThe longer route was chosen,and the race would be called the marathon

Seventeen men,thirteen of them Greek,started;not all competitors would finish,for races of that distance weren't commonand pacing and race strategy weren't widely knownA little-known native, Spiridon Louis,had finished fifth in the Greek trials(sadly, little more is known of him even today)But he had run the route six days before the raceand thus knew terrain and pacing,and he would be the first man into the Olympic stadiumwhere the marathon's ending would take place,and he was over seven minutes aheadof the next closest competitorThe thrill of a fellow countryman winning,the thrill of the host country not being shut outin the track-and-field competition,had sent stupendous cheers through the stadiumeven before Louis had entered,for spotters had been relaying news of the raceto the royals in attendance at the stadium(said spotters traveling by horse-and-carriagerather than on foot)

The marathon would spread worldwideshortly after, and largely because of,these first modern Olympics,and Louis' victory went a long wayto insuring the continued existenceof the Olympic movementfor at least a little while longer

1 comment:

Brilliant. Historic. Moving Poetry moves with the precision of a King Cobra ready to strike, or an Olympic athlete like the offspring of Kings and Queens of physical beauty and strength, proliferating in the genius and skill of the kill. Winning medals of honor. Victory for nations that would otherwise be at war if with cunning and guile the hosts let the torch lose its shimmer of light and hope. Dead snakes tell no tales and win no medals. "To the victor the spoils." Nike. Dead snakes yield skins that are treasured and venom that cures. Dead snakes never really die they live on in other forms and shapes and laugh at us all.